Friday, February 8, 1924

Fair and cool. Arose 7 A.M. Devotions. Down to breakfast. Letter Home. Studied. Chapel and Class. Dinner. Worked 12 M-2 P.M. Down street a while. To School. Read. H.H. left for Lancaster on 4:42 P.M. train. Supper. Worked at Law School 6-9 P.M. In the New Annex for the first time. To "72." Read and studied. To bed 10:00 P.M. Thankful for life having fallen in such pleasant paths.

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Stanford had a fairly routine day, it seems. Meanwhile, Mary Leah was still doing grading and other work. This was her last semester, after all, and so she was probably very busy. She had time to write a short note to Stanford that evening, however. She mentions having planned to meet Stanford at the library (where he was working, perhaps?), but couldn't find the time. The letter is posted in the Pages section of this blog, under Letters - February 6 & 8, 1924, where you can read it if you're interested in how Miss Yant is faring. It's tough being in love and trying to get work done!

Thursday, February 7, 1924

Mother's Birthday. 
Overcast and cool. Arose 7:30 A.M. Devotions. Down to breakfast. Read. Wrote letters to Drs. Frick and Higgins. Chapel and class. Dinner. Worked 12 M-2 P.M. Classes 2:20-4:35 P.M. Supper. Studied. Over to see Mary Leah. Talked. To bed 12 P.M.

Thankful for Christian mother. Nothing like a good mother. God call them angels in heaven but we call them mothers down here.

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Stanford's mother, Frances Augusta Clowe Closson, was born February 7, 1860, so that made her 64 on this day in 1924. She was 40, therefore, when she had Stanford and Hanford, and her husband was seven years old than she, being born in 1853. The twins, however, seemed to have suffered no ill effects from having been born to an older mother and father.

Wednesday, February 6, 1924

Cool, overcast and damp. Mealy & slippery under foot. Arose 7:20 A.M. Down to breakfast. Studied. H.H. & I down street to get Birthday gift for mother. Chapel & class. Dinner. Worked 12-2. Class. A Recognition Service for Woodrow Wilson in our chapel. Very impressive. A great soul laid away at Washington. Donald Timmerman led service in behalf of Mt. Vernon League. Profs. Strickland-Butters-Lynnfield-Cell-Leslie-Work and Daniber assisted--Dietterick sang solo. Grant at Organ. To Old South Church to Y.M. Class. Supper meeting. Rev. Vaughn Dabney spoke. To bed 12 P.M.

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Dr. Vaughn Dabney was the pastor of the Second Congregational Church of Dorchester, Mass, from 1920 to 1930.

On this day, while Stanford was at Old South Church and other activities, Mary Leah was doing grading--for her practice teaching, no doubt--so she missed seeing Stanford. That evening, she writes him a letter, letting him know how she feels. I've posted that letter (and the one she writes on 8 Feb) in the Pages section, at Letters - February 6 & 8. No letter from Stanford survives from this time frame, though it's very likely that he did reply to her. 

Tuesday, February 5, 1924

Cool and overcast. Rain and sleet. Wet & slippery. Arose 8 A.M. To breakfast and about town on errands. To Chapel and class. Dinner. Worked 12 M-2 P.M. Classes 2:20-4:35 P.M. Cleaned up. Talked with Eugene Myers. H.H. & I to supper at the Timmerman's home. Very fine supper and fellowship. We 3 men to Prayer Meeting at B.U.S.T. Met M.L., Marie and Lois and went to St. James and saw "The Green Goddess." Back to "108." Talked. To bed 12:45 P.M. Thankful.

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I'm assuming Stanford's group went to see the silent film, The Green Goddess, released in 1923, rather than the play of the same name that preceded it. In 1930, a talking remake came out with basically the same cast. From what I can find out, the plot was that a group of English people crash landed in the realm of an Indian potentate who holds them hostage and wants the young woman in the group to become one of his wives. It was apparently popular at the time.

Monday, February 4, 1924

Overcast and cool with some snow and mist. Arose 7:15 A.M. Washed. Wrote note to Mary Leah. Mailed it at P.O. & to breakfast. Letter home. Read and talked. To Practice Preaching Class 10:30 A.M. Dinner. Worked 12 M-2 P.M. Studied. Played volley ball. Shower. To see "M.L." for a few minutes. Supper. Worked at Law School 6-9:00 P.M. Out with H.H. for lunch. Studied. Wrote letter to M.L. To bed 1:30 A.M. Thankful to God for life and all that it means and all that he has made it mean to me.

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As he states, Stanford wrote two letters to Mary Leah on this day--one a note and the other an actual letter. She also wrote to him that same day. I have posted all three letters in the Pages section of this blog.

This is a very rare occurrence: in this and the previous entry, Stanford is using his diary to express his feelings. This trend may well continue! Though they are brief, the entries say a great deal about him--though not as much as the letters! I highly recommend reading the letters.

And because of the letters, we now also know what Mary Leah is thinking and feeling on this day (at least as much as we can glean from her words).

You'll find the letters from today at this place: 4 Feb Letters.

Sunday, February 3, 1924

"Passed over the line from the realm of friendship to the land of love."

Cool and overcast with snow. Arose 8 A.M. Shaved and washed. Out to breakfast. Devotions alone with God. M.L. & I to Temple Israel. Rabbi Levi spoke on - "If I Were a Christian." A very good service. Back on trolley. I to Old South to Young Men's S.S. class. M.L. to Public Library. To Seville to dinner with M.L. To "108" from 3 to 11:15 P.M. A nice lunch by and with "M.L." A sad day in the World's History--The death of a great man--Woodrow Wilson. A happy day in my personal history--The birth of a new self. Mary Leah loves me. "Praise God from whom all blessings flow." To bed 12:02 P.M.

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What a sweet way to report his feelings of love! And the perfect month for it, too!

Woodrow Wilson's death was reported in the New York Times, among other publications. Below is part of the front page for that day. Oddly, there was no report of Stanford and Leah's declaring their love for one another.😉

Saturday, February 2, 1924

Beautiful, bright and mild. Arose 7:30 A.M. Breakfast and devotions. Studied. Dinner. Worked 12 M-2 P.M. Haircut. Shower. H.H. left on 4:42 train. Took nap. Down to supper. Studied, read and talked. To bed 10:30 P.M. Thankful for all blessings.

Candlemas Day ~ Sun shining brightly at noon ~ due for 6 weeks more winter.

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So, it's Groundhog Day for us these days, but Stanford knew it primarily as Candlemas Day, a Christian holiday. Below is some interesting information about Candlemas Day, taken from the website, Project Britain Folklore Calendar, that reveals how the two holidays interact.

Friday, February 1, 1924

No entry for this day.

Thursday, January 31, 1924

No entry for this day.